10 Years
by PhoebeW
Summary: Regina ventures to New York to sign Henry's adoption papers before he's born and is confronted by the fact that his birth mother wants to meet her. What she isn't prepared for is the inescapable chemistry her and Emma Swan have together. But Emma isn't ready to be a mother, meaning their strong feelings for each other come second.
1. Chapter 1 - New York, New York

_Hi everyone! Welcome to my first official Swan Queen/OUAT fic! What can I say? If the actual show writers don't have the nerve to make a loving, supportive relationship between two women who have a son together canon, then I suppose it's up to us amateurs to do it for them!_

 _Anyway, I thought this would be an interesting concept to explore so that's what I'm doing, please let me know what you think! Lots more chapters to come if you guys like it._

 _Just a quick shout-out to the current SQ fic I'm reading, it's called The Collar and it's written by the wonderful littledragonflyson, please go check it out! Lots and lots of smut and lovin_

 _Phoebe x_

Regina switched on the radio as she drove towards New York; her anxiety had not settled since she set off from Storybrooke – could she really do this? Could she really adopt and take care of a child? Her track record said otherwise. But she so desperately wanted it, a person who would love and trust her unconditionally without any preconceptions about her past. The last person that had fulfilled that criteria was dead because of that dreadful do-gooder Snow White. Regina turned up the radio as anger began to rise within her, 'I'm coming Henry,' she thought, 'then they'll see I'm not so bad.'

Emma waddled through the streets of New York, trying to find the address the adoption lady had sent to her. A few weeks ago, Emma had thought that meeting her kid's future mother was a good idea – she thought it would give her some peace of mind to know what she looked like, how she acted, just to know that she would take care of her kid. Now she wasn't so sure, the nearer it got to the time, the more nervous she got. It was all getting too real for her. Days like this when the bump was all she could think about were hard; why did Neal leave? Why did everybody leave? She prayed that her baby would never have to feel left, that's why she wanted the adoption finalised before she gave birth – so that they would never have to experience the disappointment of foster care. Now where the hell was this address?!

Regina pulled up outside the address she'd been emailed and let out a nervous sigh.

"I need coffee."

She clocked a coffee shop at the end of the street, left her car and started towards it – her phone began to rang halfway there. Irritated, she answered it.

"What?"

"Hello dearie."

Gold. She really didn't have the time, energy or patience for him right now.

"What do you want?"

"I'd have thought you'd be a touch more accommodating, given I've found you your first child and all."

Regina took a deep breath and smiled sarcastically.

"Fine, what can I do for you Mr. Gold?"

"Oh, I'm just checking up on you, making sure everything's running...smoothly."

"Well, aren't you kind..."

"That, I am dearie. Well anyway, please send my best wishes to Emma."

"Emma?"

"Yes, your child's biological mother."

Regina frowned and hung up, what interest did he have in her? And why did he know her name? She wasn't even thinking about Henry's birth mother...she wanted nothing to do with him, she'd already made that choice. In fact, Regina was somewhat irritated that she'd insisted on coming to this meeting, she only agreed so that she could make sure she had nothing to worry about in regards to this "mother."

Regina was in the midst of a daydream about what Gold had said to her when she collided into a tired-looking, blonde woman outside of the coffee shop she was entering.

"Woah!"

"Would you watch where you're going?!" Regina snapped, despite knowing that she was almost definitely the cause of the collision.

"Where _I'm_ going?!"

Regina rolled her eyes and opened the door to the coffee shop, before she could move the blonde had ducked under her arm and breezed inside. She turned her head slightly to look at Regina from the corner of her eye,

"Thanks."

Regina was stunned, she wasn't used to this kind of treatment; people in Storybrooke would rather wait for hours than jump in front of her like this woman had just done. She didn't know whether to be mad at her or admire her.

Regina moved forward and joined the woman in queue, she leaned forwards towards her left ear,

"For the record, I was not holding the door open for you."

Emma rolled her eyes and smirked,

"Yet I still managed to get under your arm and into the queue before you."

Where did this woman find the nerve?! Her confidence was intriguing to Regina, she hadn't experienced this kind of rapport since leaving the Enchanted Forest. She'd also noticed that the woman smelt gorgeous – but she ignored that, she wasn't being distracted by anything today, all she wanted was to finalise this adoption. She waited for her turn and ordered a low fat, decaf latte to-go; she turned and started towards the exit. To her surprise, the woman was waiting around by the door; why was she still here? Surely it doesn't take that long to grab a coffee and leave? She was smirking at Regina as she approached the door.

"Thought I'd return the favour." She grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. Regina noticed her toned arms in front of her, for in opening the door, the woman had unintentionally (or intentionally, she wasn't sure) blocked her passage. Regina chuckled slightly and began to duck down under the woman's arms.

"Look, I'd love to continue playing mind games with you but I really need to get goi-"

Regina stopped as she saw the baby bump protruding from underneath the woman's scarf; she hadn't noticed it before, the bump had been carefully hidden by the woman. Regina's heart raced, was she hiding the bump because she was vain and cared too much about her appearance to reveal it? Or was it because she didn't want the bump in the first place? Regina looked up from her bent down position and met with the woman's, now concerned, green eyes.

"What?" The woman seemed borderline offended by Regina's apparent distaste for her bump.

"What's your name?" Regina whispered.

The woman scoffed, confused by Regina's sudden change in personality.

"Emma."


	2. Chapter 2 - Well, Miss Swan

_Hi again guys! Thanks to the people I've heard from so far that are liking 10 Years so far, I appreciate it!_

 _I'm giving you a bit of a longer chapter here because I want to get through all the story foreplay and get on to the good stuff! Please let me know what you think._

 _Phoebe x_

Regina stood paralysed, she didn't really know why – she was going to meet her anyway. Maybe it was because 5 seconds ago it felt like they were getting close to flirting.

"Hey, why do you care about my name?"

Regina looked back at Emma, she seemed concerned, looking Regina up and down, searching for an indicator on what was wrong.

"Are you on your way to a meeting about the adoption of that baby right now?"

Emma jumped and looked around to see if anybody else heard that, the fact that she didn't want her baby wasn't exactly something that she wanted advertising.

"Hey will you keep your voice down please? How did you kn-"

Emma stopped, the situation dawned on her.

"You're not?"

Regina nodded her head, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and irritation.

"Yes, I am."

They were quiet for a while, moving their eyes back and forth between each other and the ground. Then Emma began to chuckle, Regina looked up – confused yet again by Emma's questionably blasé reactions to everything.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, it's just...of course this would happen, it's so typical of my life."

"What is?"

"Well...you...I...back there in the coffee shop, we..." Emma sighed when she failed to transmit her feelings through words. "Shall we just get this meeting over with then?"

The corners of Regina's mouth quivered, exhibiting a hint of a smile; what had Emma been trying to say to her? She was making an effort to push down any feelings or thoughts that she was having towards her future child's birth mother but it was incredibly difficult considering what an interesting demeanour she had.

"Let's go."

God this woman was cold, Emma thought to herself, a minute ago they were laughing – now it seemed like she'd shut off all of her emotions.

"Hey, wait up...I do have a 7lb baby bump attached to me you know?"

The woman reluctantly slowed down slightly, but carried on walking without looking back nevertheless.

"What's your name anyway?"

"Regina."

"Regina what?"

Regina stopped and swung around to face Emma. At first she was angry and defensive at the question but when she was faced with Emma's puppy-dog expression, she relaxed her shoulders and let out a deep breath of what seemed like regret for getting mad.

"Why do you want to know my last name?"

"I don't know."

"You don't need to know it Miss..."

"Oh now look who wants to know who's last name!"

Regina rejected the sarcasm and carried on walking.

"It's Swan."

Regina stopped again.

"Well, Miss Swan as I said, there is no reason for you to know my last name. Once we've signed these papers today, your contact with me will be done.

As she said them, the words turned Regina's stomach; was she feeling empathy for Emma in the coldness of this situation or was she grieving for herself, in knowing that she would never be able to see the woman who had ignited a sense of feeling in a heart that had been numb ever since her first love, Daniel, had died? Their eyes lingered for a while, seeing and feeling each other's untold doubts.

They headed up to the apartment which the meeting was to be held in, Regina knocked on the door.

"Look," Emma placed her hand on Regina's shoulder, "you don't have to worry about me, I know the deal – no contact, that's what I decided on. He'll be your son, not mine."

Regina couldn't help but be thankful for Emma's words of comfort, it wasn't often that people understood that all Regina wanted was reassurance that she needn't worry – but still, she felt the need to keep her barriers up; after all, she'd only just met this woman.

"That's correct Miss Swan, I'm glad we understand each other."

Emma smiled, she knew what emotional barriers looked like – she'd had them up all of her life.

Their exchange was interrupted by the door being opened.

"Hi there, Regina?"

Regina shook the adoption agency worker's hand politely and stepped into the room.

"And you must be Emma?"

Emma did the same. There was an obvious decrease in comfortability in the women, after what had just happened between them, something about this meeting didn't feel right.

"So I see you two have already met?"

Emma looked to Regina for an answer.

"Yes, just briefly."

Emma smirked, she wasn't exactly lying.

The meeting lasted for around an half an hour; signatures were signed, documents were traded and anguished looks were exchanged.

"Okay ladies, I think that's about it. The next time you see each other there'll be a baby in between you. Emma and Regina both cringed at the insensitive comment and began to gather themselves.

"Please call me if you have any questions." the agency worker said with an all-too-happy smile on his face.

"Thanks, I'm sure we will." Regina replied, with more than a hint of sarcasm. Regina opened and held the apartment door open for Emma, with a hint of a smile.

"Thanks," Emma said, more coy this time.

Once they were out, Regina leant against the door for a second, squeezing her eyes together in frustration.

"I sure hope he isn't there for the birth." Regina smiled at yet another example of Emma's peculiar ability to make all situations more carefree, no matter how stressful. They both started towards the stairs.

"So where are you from?"

Regina looked at Emma suspiciously once again,

"Don't worry I'm not gonna stalk you I'm just...interested." Regina sighed, she knew she was simply trying to make conversation but she couldn't help reacting defensively.

"I live in a small town in Maine, which...I also happen to be mayor of."

Emma was impressed, she looked down at her belly and rubbed it gently,

"You're lucky kid, I hope ya know that."

Regina chest tightened as she smiled at Emma, somewhat teary-eyed – she was glad that Emma felt she was giving her child to someone who would make him happy.

"I'm sure the people in my town would laugh if they heard you talking like that."

"Oh yeah? How come?"

Regina looked at Emma with hesitation and disbelief,

"You're telling me you think I'm the kind of mayor that evokes love and happiness from the people in her town?"

Emma grinned,

"I have noticed you have a tiny bit of a cold side."

"Tiny?"

Regina felt as though she hadn't really smiled like this in a long time, she certainly hadn't felt this comfortable with someone – and someone who could be seen as a potential threat at that.

"Whatever, you know, life isn't love and happiness. It kicks you while you're up and holds you down when you fall, it's no wonder we get cold sometimes."

"You're right about that."

As they exit the building, Regina's stomach begins to clench; her car was just outside which meant she had no excuse to stay and chat.

"You know, I just wanna tell you...this morning I was terrified...I was terrified I would meet my son's future mom and not like her. I was worried she was gonna be boring, I was worried she was gonna be mean, I was worried she was gonna hate me...which actually I still haven't figured out if you do or not."

"I don't...hate you"

It was more of a statement than a question but Regina felt inclined to answer anyway.

"Well great," Emma continued, with a slight blush too her face, "anyway I wanted to say, you're none of those things and I think...I _know_ he's gonna love you...and I _know_ you're gonna love him and...um..." Emma's eyes begin to fill with tears. She couldn't hold it in anymore. "Look I'm not ready to be a mom...hell I don't think I ever will be...I don't know the first thing, I didn't even have one of my own...but you are, I can see it, I can see it in your eyes. During the meeting when you said that you've been waiting a really long time to have a kid? I really believed you...some people say that kind of stuff flippantly but I could tell that you really meant it." At this point Regina has moved closer to Emma, who now has tears streaming down her face. She's not the best at comforting other people but she's trying for the sake of Emma, she could tell that whatever went on in her past has just about taken its toll on Emma – something Regina knew all about.

Regina decided that it would feel wrong just to get in her car and leave Emma standing on the street; she never usually let the idea of right and wrong get in her way but she decided to listen to her instinct just this once.

"Would you like me to give you a lift home?"

"Don't you have a town depending on you?"

"Time's not an issue."

Emma had no idea how true that really was for the people of Storybrooke.

So, despite her head screaming at her to leave Emma there and drive away from the feelings she was experiencing, Regina unlocked her car and climbed inside next to Emma.

"Where to?"

 _ **Next time in 10 Years:**_

 _"_ _We shouldn't..." Regina could feel Emma's warm breath on the back of her neck, her hand grazing gently up her arm._

 _"_ _I know," Emma reached around Regina's body and took the glass of wine out of her hand, she placed it down on the coffee table in front of her. She turned her body so that she was directly in front of Regina and began moving her head towards her neck, "but I want to."_


	3. Chapter 3 - Madame Mayor

_Hi lovelies! Thanks for all of your feedback again, I'm so glad people are liking this little story._

 _Slightly off topic but what did you guys think of Sunday's episode? I'm interested in what your thoughts were._

 _Phoebe x_

"My apartment's just here."

Emma and Regina had spent the car journey in silence, the tension had began to grow with every breath they took. Regina pulled up outside Emma's apartment; she was shocked at the class of the area in which she lived, she had presumed Emma didn't have much to her name considering the fact that she felt she wasn't ready to be a parent. Emma noticed Regina's surprised expression and cracked a smile to herself;

"Were you expecting something a little more second-rate?"

"Um...I,"

"That's okay, most people do. I actually do pretty well for myself in my line of work."

"And what exactly is your line of work Miss Swan?"

A shiver travelled down Emma's spine, those words sounded like velvet to her coming out of Regina's mouth.

"I'm a bail bonds-person"

"Huh?"

"I put bail money up for people so they can get out of jail before they go to court."

"That sounds...interesting."

Regina was baffled by the fact that Emma would place so much trust in criminals to the point of putting her own money on the line; it was obviously working out for her though, so she decided not to pry any further.

"You wanna come in for a drink?"

Emma began to regret asking the question even before it passed her lips – she was obviously going to say no.

Regina's heart and stomach leapt, it was rare that anybody who didn't want something in return asked to spend extra time with her; she searched her mind, trying to come up with an answer to what Emma could possibly gain from having her in her apartment alone. Nothing troubling came to her. Except for her concern that the more time she spent with Emma, the more she felt inclined to let her guard down.

"Is that a really a good idea Miss Swan?"

"I don't know is it a bad one?"

"Do you really want to spend time with the woman who, in just under a month, will be taking your son away from you forever?"

Regina's words cut through Emma like a knife, her bluntness was beginning to get the better of her. She was right though, it was a very weird and potentially disastrous situation – but she couldn't help it, she wanted to know more about Regina, she wanted to keep seeing her and hearing her. _'It's just one drink'_ she told herself.

"Not really no, but I do want to spend a little more time with _you_. Plus, my neighbour baked me an apple pie and if I'm left alone with it I will almost definitely eat the whole thing in one sitting – I could really use your help with it."

Every fibre of her being was screaming at Regina to leave, _'just say no! Go back to Storybrooke and wait for your son to be born, then you'll never have to see this woman again.'_

 __The next thing Regina knew, she was sitting on Emma's sofa being handed a glass of white wine and a serving of apple pie.

"So..." Emma crashed down next to Regina on the couch, "how did you get to be mayor of your town?"

Regina, startled by Emma's robustness, spluttered and almost chocked on her wine;

"I uh..." as she tried to compose herself, Emma placed her hand lightly underneath her plate of pie – grazing her fingers against Regina's momentarily, paralysing her in an uncomfortable 'half-stood-up-half-sat-down' position.

"Are you okay do you want me to hold your plate for a second?"

"No," Regina smiled politely, trying to mask her obvious uneasiness, "that's okay, thank you." Regina sat back down, unintentionally a little closer to Emma this time. Emma felt her closeness.

"I was married to the previous mayor, that's how I got to be mayor."

"And where...where is the old mayor? If you don't mind me asking."

"He died, very suddenly some years ago."

Sympathy concealed Emma's face,

"Oh, I'm so sorry that must have been..."

"It's fine, it was a long time ago."

Emma sensed her aversion to the subject and forced herself to shut up. She felt Regina's discomfort, she needed to make her more comfortable somehow...but how?

"You know...I grew up without anyone really, I made my way through a few foster homes but basically I made it on my own and I think, at least I'd like to think, that I'm kind of a better person for it now." Emma placed a chunk of her pie in her mouth, avoiding eye contact with Regina like the plague. She couldn't understand what was motivating her to spill her guts to a woman she hardly even knew.

Regina watched as Emma struggled through what she was trying to say – she couldn't help but smile, it was sweet that she felt relaxed enough to tell her these things, though the concept of people confiding in her was alien to Regina.

"Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I think it's good and...brave...of you to do this, raise him, by yourself."

"Who said I'm by myself?"

Emma's stomach jerked.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I just assumed-"

A mischievous grin spread across Regina's face, she wanted to see what Emma's reaction would be to the idea of her not being single – it was as she thought, or rather hoped, it would be. Though she wasn't completely sure why; was it simply because she enjoyed playing mind games with people? Or was Emma's jealousy something she desired?

"Oh I see," Emma said with humour in her voice, her mission to make Regina more comfortable had been successful. "Madam Mayor wants to mess with me, good." Emma nudged Regina playfully with her foot.

"Hey!" Regina kicked her stilettos off her feet and shoved back, laughing harder as she did. Emma grabbed Regina's feet and attempted to hold them still – Regina gave her a 'if you don't let go, you'll regret it' look but Emma would not be beaten. Regina reached behind her to place her plate of pie on the coffee table behind her and lurched her feet back in an attempt to escape Emma's grasp but failed miserably; Emma's strong grip meant instead of letting go of Regina's feet, she was dragged along with them – leaving her practically on top of a now hysterical Regina.

"I think I win don't you?"

"Think again Miss Swan." Regina pushed her feet back into Emma's shoulders, she was weary that she was wrestling with a 7 months pregnant woman. Emma was on her back now, Regina saw her chance and flipped her body around with the aim of putting her wine down next to her plate. Emma looked at her for a second, exploring her body with her eyes; she took advantage of her being turned around and got up slowly so as not to give herself away. She crawled up behind Regina and and reached in front of her to place her hand on her's around the wine glass.

"I win." Emma breathed the words into Regina's ear.

It was clear to Regina now what Emma wanted with her; what was also fast becoming clear to her was the fact that she wanted the same thing.

"We shouldn't..." Regina could feel Emma's warm breath on the back of her neck, her hand grazing gently up her arm.

"I know," Emma reached around Regina's body and took the glass of wine out of her hand, she placed it down on the coffee table in front of her. Regina turned her body so that she was facing Emma who began moving her head towards her neck, "but I want to."

Regina crumbled beneath Emma's touch.

Both women knew the complications that this could have on both of their lives, yet it felt so right to them. For once in both of their lives, they let their hearts override their heads, giving in to each other's feelings – drowning in each other's breath.

 _'Don't let this end.'_ They thought to themselves, at they sunk deeper into each other.

 **Next time in 10 Years:**

" _I'm sorry I can't do this, we can't let it go any further I can't do it to him...I can't do it to you."_

 _Regina's heart ached, she knew she was right – but the thought of leaving Emma tore her apart._

" _I'm sorry."_

 _Emma closed the door._


	4. Chapter 4 - The Morning After

_Here's another chapter for y'all! My heart's not feeling too good after writing this!_

 _Phoebe x_

Regina woke slowly, her eyes heavy as they peeked open. Sunlight peeped through the cracks in the window's curtains, drawing attention to Regina's bare leg drooping slightly over the side of Emma's bed; her mind flashed with dreamy memories from last night – after she had embarrassed herself by falling off the couch mid-kiss, Emma had carried Regina through to her bedroom.

Regina submerged herself in nostalgia for the euphoria she had felt being so close to Emma for a moment before burying her head in the pillow. What had they done? She was brought quickly back to reality when she heard a crash in the kitchen.

"Shit!" she heard Emma shout.

Regina grabbed one of Emma's shirts out of her wardrobe and put it one before walking out into the living area to investigate Emma's cursing. She smiled when she saw Emma bent over, collecting broken glass off the floor with a heavily concentrated, almost bothered look on her face – Regina had not been aware that Emma could feel anything close to seriousness before this, she was enjoying it. She crept towards Emma, bending down in front of her when she arrived,

"Need some help?"

Emma jumped, how had she travelled across the room so silently?

"Enjoying my shirt?"

Regina looked smug as she picked shards of glass up off the floor; their eyes met, a mixture of desire and despair engulfed them both. Emma was the first to break away, a disappointing development for Regina.

"So do you want some breakfast or do you need to get going?" Emma's was facing away from Regina now, she couldn't bear to face her reaction. It was around 5am when Emma decided that she had to let Regina go. She had been staring at Regina sleeping for well over an hour, relishing in the warmth radiating from her body as she lay beside her. Emma had buried her head in her knees as she told herself that her son deserved to live his life without his wreck of a birth mother anywhere near him – and that if sacrificing her own happiness was what she needed to do to make sure of that, then that was what she was going to do.

"Do I need to _get going_?" A frenzy concealed Regina's insides. She knew that they would have to say goodbye at some point, but she hadn't realised that Emma was so keen to get it over and done with so soon; she thought she'd at least get to spend the rest of the day with her. She should have known better, this is what always happened when she opened up her heart. She had thought Emma was different.

"Yeah, to your town." Emma cringed at herself, this wasn't her. She couldn't stand herself being so cold. What was she doing? Last night had been one of the best of her life and she was hurting the woman who gave it to her.

"I see..." The rage filling Regina's stomach died, there was no point in fighting this. She let the dullness she had felt yesterday morning before she met Emma wash over her again and began to collect her things.

Emma turned around slowly and watched Regina walk back towards the bedroom,

"You can...you can keep the shirt, if you want."

Regina stopped in her tracks.

"That won't be necessary."

Regina walked into the bedroom, the memories of last night hitting her like a tonne of bricks. She shut the door behind her and slid down it, her knees crumbling beneath her. Teary-eyed, she crawled towards the pile of clothes next to the bed; as she lifted her blouse, she noticed it had been ripped – she buried her face in it, leaving it tear-soaked.

After 20 minutes, Emma began to wonder what it was that Regina could possibly be doing in her bedroom, she wanted her out...she couldn't stand the pain of being in the same place as her any more. She leant against her bedroom door,

"Regina? You okay in there?"

When there was no reply, Emma pushed the door open gently, moving forward slowly.

"Regina?"

Regina was sat on the bed, back facing Emma – she was looking down at something. Emma edged forward towards her, bending her neck to see what it was. An anguished smile appeared on her face as she realised that Regina had found her 20 week sonograms of her son. Emma crawled on to the bed next to her.

"Can you see his head?"

Regina wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head. Emma made a circle around the baby's head with her finger,

"Here's his head...and then there's his lil feet, cute huh?"

Regina's laugh/cry tore Emma apart, this woman had the capability of loving so fully – she just hadn't met a person worthy of her love yet. It would only be a month or so before she would though. Emma guided Regina's hand on to her stomach,

"He's almost here."

Regina nodded, remembering the reason she was here in the first place. Emma was already giving her the greatest gift anybody could give, how could she have expected to give her heart away too? She picked up her ripped blouse from next to her and handed it to Emma,

"I'm afraid I will have to take your shirt after all."

Emma held the blouse tightly,

"How about you take those too?" She pointed at the sonogrames.

"Really? You don't mind?"

"No I mean...he's your son, I have copies anyway. You should have them."

"Thank you Emma...really."

They both got up and left the bedroom, Regina looked back one last time – treasuring the memories inside the room. She passed Emma and stepped out into the corridor, letting out a heavy sigh. They looked at each other for a while, soaking in each other's features. They hugged one last time.

"I'm sorry I can't do this, I can't let it go any further I can't do it to him...I can't do it to you."

Regina's heart ached, she knew she was right – but the thought of leaving Emma tore her apart.

"I'm sorry."

Emma closed the door.

"Goodbye Emma..." Regina whispered under her breath.

 **Next time in 10 Years:**

" _Hello?"_

" _Am I speaking to a Miss. Regina Mills?"_

" _Yes, who's this?"_

" _My name is Dr. Kurby, I'm Emma Swan's midwife...I'm afraid there's been a problem, she's gone into labour early. She's asking for you. She tells me she doesn't have any other family, is that correct?"_

Regina was paralysed.

" _Yes...she's..she's on her own..."_


	5. Chapter 5 - Come Back to Me

_Hi guys! Sorry for the longer-than-usual wait, I'm very busy at the moment! As always, thank you for all of your feedback - I hope you continue enjoying the story_ _Much love,_ _Phoebe x_

It had been two weeks since Regina had left Emma's apartment; every day was just as hard as the last, she felt lost. She had been channeling her heartbreak into anger and taking it out on the citizens of Storybrooke – this wasn't unusual for Regina, but her empathy for those idiotic townspeople and their trivial problems was weakening fast. What irritated her more was the fact that not a single one of them had confronted her about it, confirming that none of them cared about her at all – at least not enough for them to move beyond their own fears and question what it was that had put Regina in this awful mood in the first place. A knock on her office door snapped her out of her angry daydream.

"Yes?" frustration engrossed Regina's voice.

"Hello dearie." Great, just what she needed – an ear-full of Gold's bullshit.

"What do you want?"

Gold scrutinised the office, agitating Regina beyond words.

"Well, I realised I never managed to catch up with you after your little visit to New York. How'd it go?"

To Regina, it seemed as though Gold already knew how it went.

"What do you care?"

"Oh my dear, of course I care. I know how much you want this child...did you meet the mother?"

Regina's heart wrenched, this was the last thing on earth she wanted to discuss right now, especially with Gold. She coudn't give her pain away to him though, so she leant back on her chair and put on her best self-satisfied look.

"Yes I did...why are you so interested in her Gold? You spoke about her on the phone the other day too."

This _was_ a question that had been playing on Regina's mind ever since that phone call.

"Oh...no reason." Gold smiled to himself and turned towards the exit; Regina frowned, Gold had made a habit of involving her in overly-cryptic conversations recently – she wasn't a fan of it.

"Next time you decide to visit my office Gold, could you please ensure you have an actual reason to be here?"

Gold continued to walk towards the exit but stopped at the last second,

"Oh Regina?"

"What?"

"I have a feeling that this mood you're in is going to be...improved in the near future." And before Regina could ask him what the hell he meant, he was gone – and her phone was ringing.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking to a Miss. Regina Mills?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"My name is Dr. Kurby, I'm Emma Swan's doctor...I'm afraid there's been a problem, she's gone into labour early. She's asking for you. She tells me she doesn't have any other family, is that correct?"

Regina was paralysed.

"Yes...she's..she's on her own..."

Regina began to gather her things hectically, knocking her bag off the desk in the process causing all of its contents to spread themselves across the floor – including the sonograms Emma had given her. She stared at them, tears filling her eyes.

"Is she...are they, going to be okay doctor?"

"I would advise that you get here as soon as possible Miss. Mills."

Outside Regina's office Mr. Gold smiled, intent in his eyes,

"Here she comes."

"Regina..."

"She's on her way Emma, try and relax...the nurses will be in soon to prep you for your c-section."

"No!" Emma was writhing in pain, she understood what they were talking about now when they say labour is the worst pain you'll ever go through.

"Emma this needs to happen now, it can't wait."

"She should be here."

"I know." Dr. Kurby placed a sympathetic hand on Emma's shoulder as a crowd of nurses entered the room to get Emma ready for her c-section.

Regina sped down the road, worry absorbing her every breathe. Had she caused this? Did she cause Emma too much stress? Doubts and panicked thoughts raced through her head at a million miles per hour. The thought of loosing either her son or Emma...or both – she could hardly bear it. Her phone began to ring.

"What?!"

"You sound upset."

Frustration overcame her and manifested itself into tears,

"Not now Gold, please."

"I've just a few words to...inspire you Madame Mayor, something I read in an old book a few days ago."

Regina gripped her steering wheel tighter now, why was he doing this?

"Gold please..."

"True love's kiss...can break any curse." Gold hung up.

Regina sat there in disbelief, she had no idea why Gold was telling her this – it was obvious that he wanted something with Emma and Henry but she had no idea what. She couldn't worry about that now, or the vague and rather unsettling quote that he'd just recited to her, she needed to get to Emma and Henry.

By the time she arrived at the hospital maternity unit a few hours later, panic had swamped Regina – it was like an out-of-body experience, she couldn't see or hear anyone but herself as thoughts of Emma and Henry ran through her head.

"Are you okay there Miss? Can I help you?" The young receptionist seemed concerned yet wary about Regina's state.

"Emma Swan...I...need to-"

Before she could finish a middle-aged female doctor had her hand on Regina's shoulder.

"Excuse me are you by any chance Regina Mills?"

"Yes." Regina looked down at the woman's name badge; Dr Kurby, the one who called her.

Dr. Kurby lead a strung-out Regina in to her office and sat her down on a chair; as soon as Regina hit the chair, she snapped out of her daze and stood right back up again.

"Where is Emma? Is she okay? Is my son okay?"

"If you'd like to take a seat Miss. Mills I'll explain it all-"

"No. I don't want to sit down I want you to tell me what happened."

"Well, Miss. Mills, as I told you on the phone there were some compliations with Emma's pregnancy which meant she went in to labour earlier than she should have."

"What complications?"

"We're not entirely sure of that at this stage I'm afraid...when Emma got here she was in a bad way, she couldn't tell us anything that had happened."

Regina winced at the thought of Emma in such a state; it was hard for her to imagine her anything else but rational and collected.

"We had to perform a cesarean section almost right away in order to ensure the safety of the baby now-"

"What?" The thought that Henry might have already been born hadn't even crossed Regina's mind, she sat down now. "Where is he?"

"He's in the intensive care unit right now Miss Mills and he'll be in there for a while I'm afraid."

"Will he be okay?"

"I would think so yes, I've seen babies born earlier and thrive after going through intensive care. It's all about having patience and staying strong."

The relief Regina felt inside her upon hearing those words was unreal; she had a son – and he was going to be okay. Then it dawned on her, Kurby had not yet mentioned where Emma was.

"Emma."

A solomn look washed over Dr. Kurby's face, leaving Regina feeling like she'd been kicked in the stomach.

"She lost a lot of blood during her section, there was nothing we could do to stop it."

Regina went numb, her body fell limp.

"Is she d-"

"No, no she's still alive...but I can't lie to you it doesn't look good Miss. Mills. She's in the operating theatre right now."

"Take me to the operating theatre."

"I'm afraid..."

"Please...please just take me there."

Dr. Kurby lead her down towards the end of the coridoor and stopped and stopped outside a door with a small windown. Regina hesitated for a moment, fearing what she might see, then moved forward towards the window.

What she saw felt like a knife in her chest, she placed her hand on the window and let the tears rolled down her face.

"Emma," She whispered, "come back to me."

As she saw the doctors in the operating theatre begin to panic, she Regina became frantic.

"Let me in!"

Dr Kurby held on to Regina's arms as she struggled.

"You can't go in there Miss. Mills I'm sorry."

"She's dying!"

"Miss. Mills, there's nothing you can do."

 _True love's kiss can break any curse –_ Gold's words replayed themselves in Regina's head.

She knew then, what she had to do.

"Yes, yes there is."

 **Next time in 10 Years:**

" _He's beautiful."_

" _Isn't he..." she sighed, with love and pride in her heart._


	6. Chapter 6 - We're Going Home

_So sorry for the wait guys! You'll have to bear with me, life is majorly getting in my way at the moment._

 _Anyway, hope you like this chapter - lemme know what you think!_

 _Phoebe xxx_

"You need to let me take her."

"Wha...take her where? Miss. Mills, moving her from that room would be the worst thing you could do right now."

 _I need to get her back to Storybrooke,_ she thought to herself. She might be able to help her there – she couldn't be sure, but it was better than watching her die right there in the operating theatre. She pulled Dr. Kurby aside.

"Listen, this is going to sound ridiculous but we need to get her out of this hospital and back to my home town...there's...someone...something there that can help her."

Dr. Kurby looked troubled, but she could tell that Regina wasn't being irrational like many of her patient's grieving loved ones – she could tell that she was telling the truth.

"And where exactly is your home town?"

"Storybrooke, Maine."

"Miss. Mills, that's an 8 hour drive – she won't make it."

Regina searched her brain for a solution, dreading the thought of not finding one.

"What if...what if they came with us?" She pointed at the operating staff, who were still moving hectically around Emma.

"What do you mean? In an ambulance?"

"Precisely, could that work?"

"Perhaps...but I have to tell you, these are very well-trained surgeons – I'm not sure who or what it is you have waiting for her back in Maine but..."

"Trust me," Regina interrupted, "Storybrooke is her best chance."

Kurby sighed, she couldn't ignore Regina's certainty. She gestured for Regina to wait there and opened the door to the theatre, before she entered she turned to Regina,

"What about the baby?"

A pang of guilt hit Regina, this wasn't how it was supposed to be – she should be with Henry right not, watching over him, loving him. She hadn't even seen him yet.

Kurby sensed what Regina was thinking,

"Tell you what, _if_ they agree to it, it's going to take a while to transfer Emma to an ambulance...so why don't you go and see him and I'll come and find you as soon as she's ready to go?"

She couldn't find the words to express it right now, but Regina was glad to have met Dr. Kurby. She gave her a nod and started towards the intensive care unit.

As she got closer, nerves overwhelmed her. She had already been nervous to be a mother, but now with everything else...she was scared to face her son. She approached the unit timidly, opening the door to a row of windows. She glanced in and saw all of the tiny, helpless children...hooked to machines bigger than even the one Emma had been attached to – she couldn't bear it.

"Ma'am, can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to see my son...his birth mother is Emma Swan."

The nurse was concerned by Regina's obvious despair,

"Of course, right this way. Would you like me to stay with you are you okay?"

"No...no, thank you I'm okay."

The nurse lead Regina into the room. Regina scanned the room, nervous for the state that Henry might be in – some of the babies in here were no bigger than her forearm. As the nurse stopped, Regina's heart skipped a beat, she was about to meet her son.

"Here he is." The nurse gave a reassuring smile and guided Regina towards Henry.

As she laid her eyes on Henry for the first time, Regina felt her whole life flash before her eyes – she had thought she'd known true love, but she was wrong...this was what it felt like. It was as though she'd known him all of her life, as though they belonged together. She walked towards him slowly and knelt down besides his crib; she had thought that the wires and machinery would scare her but they didn't – all she saw was him. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she put her hand to the glass,

"Hi Henry."

"He's beautiful."

"Isn't he?" she sighed, with love and pride in her heart.

"You can touch him if you'd like?" The nurse held out a bottle of hand sanitiser to Regina, she rubbed some into her hands and nervously moved her hands inside the small holes in Henry's crib. As her hand got closer, she saw how tiny Henry really was, her hand practically swallowed his whole body. Regina felt so guilty, as though she had caused this somehow; bad things always happened to those she cared about.

The nurse left as Regina continued to soak up the love she was feeling; she thought of Emma, if her plan didn't work, she may never get to meet Henry – her own flesh and blood.

"She's going to be okay..." she whispered to Henry, "your mommy."

"Miss. Mills?"

Regina was interupted by Dr. Kurby.

"We're ready to go."

 _I don't know if I'm ready,_ Regina thought to herself as she took one last look at Henry.

Dr. Kurby helped Regina up into the ambulance – she took a seat next to Emma.

"Miss. Mills this is Dr. Hill and Dr. Bennett, they're two of our best surgeons."

Regina shook their hands,

"Will you be able to keep her alive for the next 8 hours?" She wasn't one for small-talk, she needed to know they were up for the job. The doctors exchanged an uneasy look.

"We'll do everything we can." Dr. Bennett told Regina with a comforting smile that she found extremely patronising, but now wasn't the time to make that known. She looked down at Emma – she didn't look sick, she just looked like she was sleeping...she was beautiful. _Please let her be okay._

After around 4 hours of looking at Emma, making sure the surgeons were doing their jobs and thinking about Henry, Regina gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep next to Dr. Kurby.

"Regina? Regina..." Regina was woke gently by Kurby, "we're in Storybrooke...where do you want us to take her?"

"108 Mifflin Street, it's straight ahead...biggest house on the block." Regina took out her phone and dialed Gold's number.

"Gold? Get over to my place now, it's urgent."

Gold was standing outside Regina's front door when they arrived, Regina climbed out first and waited whilst they prepared Emma to be moved.

"Miss. Swan, I take it?"

"Yes...and I take it from your phone call earlier that you know why I brought her here."

Gold nodded, not taking his eyes off Emma for a second.

"What I think will work...will it? She's not under a curse, she's bleeding out."

"Tell me, Madame Mayor, do you see any blood?"

Regina frowned and observed Emma...she'd just accepted what the doctors had told her, but Gold was right – there was no blood in sight. But why did Gold know to look for that? Why didn't he look the slightest bit concerned?

"What did you do Gold?" Anger rose in Regina, she should have known the moment Gold spoke of Emma that he was up to something...she _had_ known, but she would never in a million years have thought...

"How's your boy doing?"

"Gold!" Regina was just about to kick his walking stick out from underneath him when the doctors wheeled Emma past.

"Where do you want her Miss. Mills?" Dr. Hills stared blankly at Regina.

"Through the foyer, first door on the right." She and Gold followed the doctors.

Gold leaned in towards Regina "I couldn't very well simply _wait_ for her to come here of her own accord."

Regina stopped dead and spun around to face Gold, "I knew it! You did this?!" Regina could feel the rage bubbling in her stomach, what did he want with Emma? What could be so important that he would put her life at risk? Although, it wasn't as though he had let others' lives get in the way of what he wanted in the past – but she thought he'd gotten past that when he came to Storybrooke.

"Why? Gold? What could you possibly gain from her being here?"

"We'll get to that part later dearie, right now lets talk about you."

"Me?!" Never had she wanted to kill a man so badly, and she'd wanted to kill _a lot_ of men.

"Yes, you. You...my dear...are why we are standing here, right now."

"And why's that?"

"You know when we left our...old home...I was told that on her 28th birthday, a certain princess' daughter would find us, and return all of our happy endings. I was told that her name was Emma. So when we arrived in Storybrooke, I began searching for ways to speed up those 28 years – after 18 years, I finally found her...sad, poor and very, very pregnant. So! When you came to me, requesting that I find you a child to adopt, I was able to place down the final piece of this very, complicated puzzle. The saviour and The Evil Queen, sharing a son! How poetic."

Regina's heart was racing. Surely he had to be lying, surely this couldn't be true...her swarn enemy's child was...Emma? She couldn't believe it...she wouldn't believe it.

"What I didn't plan for however, was you and her falling _desperately_ in love. I saw it on your face when you returned from New York, I heard it in your voice...the pain...the pain of knowing that you two could never be as long as Emma doubted her abilities as a mother – her ability to love. How am I doing? Pretty spot on so far?"

Regina couldn't look at him, she felt faint...how could this be happening?

"So! I thought I would save you the hassle of waiting a full ten years for your love to return to you and...hurry it along a little."

"H..how...?"

"Oh it was pretty easy...just a mild curse, just strong enough to make those amateur doctors in there believe she was dying – which, actually, she is...she will, that is if you don't save her."

Regina snapped, pinning Gold up against her front door,

"Henry wasn't ready to be born! He could have died!" She screamed into his face, his smug smile didn't disappear though.

"Oh dearie but he didn't, did he?"

"You bastard!" She pounded his chest with her fist, "Stay away from us!" She pushed past him through her house and into the room Emma was being kept in, "get out!" she shouted at the doctors.

"But Miss. Mi-"

"Out!" She slammed the door behind them, sliding down to the floor in a flood of tears and rage. She looked up at Emma, blissfully unaware as she slept under the curse.

"I should let you go..." Her life would never be the same if she woke her up now; Gold wouldn't let her leave, she'd have too much responsibilty, all of Regina's work would be undone, Henry wouldn't have the normal life she had wanted for him...Emma would hate her for bringing her back – and how in the hell would she get past the fact that she was Snow's daughter? She didn't want to become The Evil Queen again, she just wanted to be happy, Emma being here might complicate that.

The door crept open behind her,

"I know what you're thinking dearie..."

"Please, please go away." She was begging him.

"You might not want to believe me when I say it but, this is your best chance at happiness. She is your best chance. Henry? Henry was always going to be but a stepping stone to your happiness, sure you'll love him with all of your heart...but you need to accept yourself before you can find happiness – Henry can't help with that. She can."

Regina sighed, she hated Gold's guts for what he had done but she could admit he was right. She got up and started towards Emma; she leant down beside her, stroked her hair and moved closer to her,

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered with pain in her heart.

As a single tear dropped from Regina's eye to Emma's cheek, their lips met.

 **Next time in 10 Years:**

" _Where am I?"_

" _Home, dearie...that's where you are."_

" _Who the hell are you?"_


	7. Chapter 7 - We're Home

_Hi Guys! Sorry for the wait once again. Just a heads up, updates might well be cut down to once or twice a week now - I'll try my best to do more but I don't want to promise anything._

 _Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

 _Phoebe xxx_

A flood of light filled the room that knocked Regina and Gold back. Emma's eyes opened slowly and searched for Regina.

"Regina..." She was more confused than she'd ever been; where was she? Why was Regina there? Why did Regina looked shocked and worried? Why had she woken up to what felt like an explosion? Why was she in a hospital bed? Wait...hospital bed...she remembered why she was in one...the baby. Her heart began to pound, her breathing grew rapid.

"Where is he?"

"Emma..."

"And what the hell just happened?! Why do I feel like I've just been electrocuted?!"

"That's one way of putting it..." Gold sniggered from the corner of the room, feeling cocky that his plan had worked so perfectly.

Emma and Regina shrugged his comment off.

"Where is he Regina?"

"He's fine Emma...he's beautiful, he's perfect." She smiled, tears filling her eyes. Relief washed over Emma as she stayed a moment in the bliss that was Regina's loving gaze; she was so happy to see her again. But reality set in then, why _was_ she seeing her again?

"Where am I?"

"Home dearie...that's where you are."

This guy's cryptic comments were starting to get on Emma's nerves.

"Who the hell are you?"

Regina gave Gold her best death glare, she wanted him out.

"I'll leave you two to it...for now." He gave them a quick nod and ambled out of the room – Emma followed him out with her eyes.

"Oh Gold? See the surgeons out would you? And _you_ can explain why their help wasn't necessary."

Gold let out a deep sigh and continued on out of the room.

"Don't mind him."

"Who is he?"

"He found you...he found Henry."

"Henry?"

"Your...my...son."

"Oh..."

Regina sensed Emma's overwhelming confusion and perched on the bed next to her, Emma relaxed in the comfort of her being close.

"Where are we?"

"We're in my house."

"I'm in the mayor's house?" Emma spoke with a mixture of sarcasm and awe as she looked around the room. Regina laughed, Emma's humour put her at ease – possibly too much ease. She reached out to tuck Emma's sweat-soaked hair behind her ear, to which Emma responded by pulling away; Regina's heart sank. Emma felt bad, it wasn't personal – she just wasn't used to being comforted.

"Regina why am I here?"

Regina sighed and got up to walk across the room to the window.

"You almost died Emma...I had to bring you here it was your only chance."

"And why was your house my only chance?"

"Not the house...the town."

"Huh?"

Regina turned around, frustrated that she had to explain this now. She had planned on never letting this secret leave her own mind; she'd always suspected Gold had known but now she had confirmation she was terrified the truth was going to come out and awaken other people's memories. If her's and Emma's kiss hadn't already done that that is. She just hoped that she could somehow ease Emma into it – she'd been through enough already.

"Look Miss. Swan-"

Emma perked up at the formality; why had her questions bothered her?

"I think what you need right now is rest."

"No I don't, I'm awake...in fact, I'm _very_ awake – like I said, I feel like I've got electricity pumping through my body."

Regina smiled at the reminder that they had just shared true love's kiss – something she had doubted she would ever share since Daniel had passed away.

"What?"

"Come on, let's get you washed up...take a shower and then you can borrow some of my clothes."

"I need to get back home."

Regina looked to the floor, she was dreading the next couple of days.

"The shower room is this way." Regina guided a drained Emma out of the room, carrying her weight on her shoulder; Emma held on tightly to Regina's waist – she stopped for a moment,

"Thank you..." She murmured. It had been a long time since Regina had heard those words directed at her.

"You are so welcome Emma." Guilt touched her heart as she realised Emma's gratitude would most likely be very short-lived...and with good reason; _I've ruined your life,_ she thought as she moved Emma down the corridor.

"Regina!"

Regina was cooking up some dinner for her and Emma when she heard her shout. She ventured upstairs and walked through her bedroom towards her en suite shower room.

"Emma? Are you all right?" The door was ajar, Regina was just about to poke her head through when Emma's popped out in front of her – leaving their faces uncomfortably close to one and other's; Regina couldn't help but smirk.

"What's the matter?"

"Do you have those clothes you promised?"

Regina blushed at the fact that she had forgotten to give Emma some clothes.

"Oh! Yes, sorry I'll get them for you." She rushed back into her bedroom and took out a silk blue shirt and some plain black pants – she had a feeling Emma wasn't a suit kind of girl but it would have to do. Plus, Regina had come to the conclusion in her head that she would look good in blue. She turned back towards the bathroom, but Emma was not waiting by the door as she had expected – she was stood by Regina's window in a towel, looking out on Storybrooke. Regina jumped, Emma turned at the sound of her shock.

"Sorry, being too quiet for people to hear me walk in is part of my job."

"Well...you're very good at it." Regina gripped the clothes in her hand for a second, then started towards Emma. "You know, if any of the townspeople have seen you in my window wearing nothing but a towel there is going to be _quite_ a stir."

"Oh shoot!" Emma ducked and moved to the side of the window, Regina laughed at her goofiness.

"Don't worry about it." She held out the clothes to Emma, Emma took a hold of them but Regina didn't let go. Staring into Emma's eyes reminded her of why she was here in the first place – Henry. As she looked at Emma, she thought of how grateful she was to her for giving her her first child, of how her fears for how Emma and everyone else would react to the news that this town was home to magic were so small and insignificant in comparison to the love she felt for her new-found family.

She no longer needed to doubt the future of her and Emma – they had shared true love's kiss; their destiny was sealed. No matter what hurdles they were about to face, their love for each other and Henry could survive it.

Regina moved forward towards Emma; Emma froze as Regina leaned in and pushed her gently against the wall – their lips met, sending a jolt of energy through them both. Emma resisted her urge to pull away and melted into Regina's touch.

"See there it is again, what is it in this place that keeps electrocuting me?"

"I think...that would be me." Regina smiled timidly.

"What? Oh...you mean, you kissed me before I woke up before? Boy, are your lips magic?" Emma said with a laugh as she took the clothes from Regina.

Regina waited until she was in the bathroom to answer.

"You're not completely wrong there."

Emma poked her head out of the door as she was buttoning up Regina's blue velvet shirt, a look of mockery and concern on her face.

"Pfff...what are you talking about lady?"

Before she could reply, Regina's front door burst open downstairs. Regina launched herself towards the stairwell,

"Who's there?!"

"The woman you once put a sleeping curse on."

Regina froze, so much for easing Emma into this world gently.

 **Next time in 10 Years:**

 _"_ _What the hell did you do to these people Regina?"_

 _They looked out to the mob of angry townspeople,_

 _"_ _I took away all that they loved..." She turned to Emma with fearful eyes, "and now they're here to do the same to me._


	8. Chapter 8 - Our Emma

_Hi Guys!_

 _I'm not gonna waste your time with excuses as to why it's taken me so long to upload because that's boring. Just know I'm always trying to make time to write!_

 _Hope you enjoy_

 _Phoebe xxx_

Regina exhaled – really? She was doing this now?

Emma let out a small, nervous giggle,

"Regina who the hell is that?" With a mocking tone in her voice, Emma creeped forward towards where Regina was. Regina whirled around, a frown on her face; Emma noticed it – wait...this wasn't a joke? "What's the matter?"

"Stay back Emma."

"Why? Who is that Regina?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, just let me handle this." Regina began creeping towards her bedroom door, but Emma pulled her back and blocked her path.

"You need to tell me what's happening...is she dangerous?"

"Emma..."

"No! Stop shutting me out does she want to hurt you?"

"Yes. Happy now? Please get away from the door."

Emma paused for a second, weighing up her options – how bad could this chick be? She'd probably handled worse in her job back in New York. Emma's eyes met Regina's one last time before she turned and pushed the bedroom door open, storming out onto the staircase.

"Emma!" Regina whispered aggressively, she didn't want Snow catching on to who she was just yet – she wanted to keep her to herself for a little longer without all the family drama. She followed Emma out onto the staircase.

"Regina...why is she pointing a bow and arrow at me?" Emma whispered. Regina grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her back slightly, so that her body was at least half-shielded by Regina's.

"Who's that Regina? Another one of your victims?"

"Pffft." Emma snorted – Regina gave her a 'shut up' look. "Sorry, it's just...I'd heard people in Maine were quirky but..."

"Emma. Shut. Up." Regina hissed under her breath; Emma looked down at the ground, trying her best to hide her grin.

"Can we do this another time Mary Margaret? I'm a little tired." Regina's sarcasm irked Snow to no end.

"Now's good." Snow tightened her grip on her bow and arrow – Regina reached her arms back and pushed Emma back further. Emma wasn't having it.

"Look lady, I don't know what beef you have with her but this is kinda intense and threatening and...we're kinda busy here so could you put the arrow down maybe?"

"Who are you?"

"Em-"

"She's none of your business. Now what do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you...I just want to make sure you can never hurt anyone ever again."

"I just adopted a child Snow, you would take away an innocent child's parent?"

"You did..."

Regina sighed, that was true – she always was quick witted.

Just then, the front door burst open again.

"Snow!"

"Charming!" Snow dropped her bow to the floor and jumped into David's arms – they shared a long embrace.

"Ew..." Emma screwed her face up, "What the hell kind of people do you have living in your town Madame Mayor?"

"Stay here." Regina instructed, knowing full well Emma wouldn't listen but it was worth a try. She started down the stairs with intent – these two idiots weren't going to ruin her day. Snow noticed and lunged towards her bow and arrow, aiming it back at Regina.

"You need to leave."

"Oh we do? Then what do you expect? Everyone to leave you alone? People are angry Regina...you took away our memories, our hope...our lives with each other."

"The last I saw, the dwarfs were gathering a mob together. They aren't going to leave you alone." David rested his hand on the handle of his sword and moved next to Snow. Regina considered what he said for a moment,

"Well then, you either need to kill me, a new mother, right here right now _or_ you need to leave. Your decision." An irritated grin covered Regina's face.

"You need to leave this town, you aren't welcome here any more."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere dear. You thing a few angry townspeople are going to drive me away? Think again."

Snow moved closer to Regina, the tip of her arrow now only inches away from her.

"Woah!" Emma ran in front of Regina, "I think we all need to take a few seconds to...breath." Emma couldn't work out what the hell was happening; angry townspeople? Dwarfs? A guy called Charming? All she knew was that there was an arrow pointing at Regina's heart.

"Who are you?" Charming frowned.

"Em-"

"Leave her alone." Regina pulled her back.

"Regina would you just let me tell them my name jesus." Regina inhaled as though she was about to protest...she decided there was no point in doing so and let out a defeated sigh.

"My name is Emma."

Snow dropped her bow and arrow and her jaw, Charming did the same. Snow looked at Regina, a mixture of joy and grief in her eyes.

"Our...our Emma?"

Regina gave a small nod.

"What?" Emma managed to say before she was drowned in the arms of Snow and Charming. Emma's body tensed – she wasn't a huge fan of affection without consent, but these guys were really feeling it so she resisted the urge to break free of the hug. That was until Snow decided to stroke her hair; she wriggled out of their arms. "Okay okay okay what the hell? I don't know who you think I am but-"

Emma was interrupted by the faint sound of chants moving towards the house. "What's that?"

"They're here." Regina scurried towards the front door and locked it, discreetly using her magic to seal it shut. "You two need to decide what you're doing...Emma could you go and lock the back door please?"

"Sure."

"I suggest if you want to leave then you follow her."

Snow and Charming looked at each other for a moment,

"We'll stay." Snow moved closer to Regina, "I will never forgive you from forcing us to send her away."

"I didn't force you Snow, you two made that decision on your own."

"We wouldn't have had to make it if you'd just sucked it up and let us get on with our lives!"

"And I would have let you get on with your sad, pathetic lives if you hadn't killed Daniel!"

Emma creeped into the room reluctantly,

"Door's locked..."

Regina tried her best to smile and reached out for her hand – but Snow pushed her aside and grabbed on to Emma's arm, rage burned inside Regina...but she restrained herself. She didn't want to expose Emma to that side of her _just_ yet.

"Come on Emma, we'll wait in the living room -"

Emma shook Snow's hand away, confused by how familiar Snow had made herself with her since she'd found out her name,

"I'm staying with her."

A look of shock overtook Snow's face,

"Emma...you don't know who she is."

"No...I don't know who _you_ are." Emma gave Snow a dismissive look and turned to Regina, who was too busy enjoying Emma's protectiveness to take note of the fact that the chants outside her door had gotten louder. "I think we should go upstairs, I don't like how loud that chanting is getting." She reached out for her hand and lead her upstairs. Snow went to protest but Charming pulled her back,

"We need to be patient Snow, she doesn't know us. Regina won't hurt her."

"How do you know that?"

"How do you think the curse was broken?"

"I don't know."

"What magic has the power to break any curse?"

Snow looked at Charming for guidance, his smug grin wasn't giving her any clues,

"The magic that meant that I had the power to awake you from that sleeping curse."

Snow paused for a moment...it couldn't be true, could it?

"True love's kiss..."

XXX

"Okay I have so many questions." Emma shut Regina's bedroom door and locked it before running her hands through her hair and setting herself down gently on the bed. Her body was still aching from giving birth.

"I know you do." Regina knelt next to her head and twirled a piece of her long blonde hair between her fingers, "is it okay if I answer them later though? I kind of have to deal with the angry mob situation going on outside my door right now." A hint of humour in her voice.

"Yeah that was gonna be my first question. Why are they chanting about an evil queen? Is that their nickname for you or something?"

"...I guess you could say that." Emma got up and moved towards the window. She jolted and dipped her head when she saw what was outside, "oh my god they're in your back yard now!"

"You're kidding? They better not touch my tree."

"What the hell did you do to these people Regina?"

They looked out to the mob of angry townspeople,

"I took away all that they loved..." she turned to Emma with fearful eyes, "and now they're here to do the same to me."

"What are you gonna do?"

Regina fell down onto the edge of her bed and buried her head in her hands,

"I have no idea."

Emma walked towards her and rested her hand on her shoulder – Regina leant her head against Emma's stomach,

"It's gonna be okay...Iknow you're not evil." Regina looked up at Emma, she saw the love and hope in her eyes,

"But I am Emma...I am evil."

Emma frowned and dropped down to the floor, she placed her hands on Regina's knees,

"An evil person wouldn't have saved me."

Regina slid down off her bed and onto the floor besides Emma – they looked at each other for a while before leaning into a soft, loving kiss.

"Let me go and speak to them." Enthusiasm filled Emma's eyes.

"What? No. Emma. No."

"Why not? They don't want to kill me. Maybe they'll listen."

"Ha! They won't, they're more stubborn than you know. Besides, they have no clue who you are why would they trust you?"

"Okay, well what about those people downstairs would they trust them?"

"Sure, but how do you plan on convincing the woman who was pointing an arrow at me 10 minutes ago that I'm worth saving?"

"I'm 'their Emma' I'm pretty sure they'll listen to me."

Regina smiled solemnly before nodding her head,

"Okay..."

Emma stood up and moved towards the door,

"Hey what's up with that anyway? Who do they think I am?"

Screw it, Regina thought, she's going to find out at some point.

"Their daughter..."

 _ **Next time in 10 Years:**_

 _"_ _Are you sure?"_

 _"_ _More sure than I've ever been in my life."_


	9. Chapter 9 - Unresolved Issues

_I thought I'd give you two in one day since I've been so inactive! Hope you enjoy_

 _Phoebe_

 _xxx_

 _"_ _Their_ _daughter_ _?! Why would they think that? I'm the same age as them!"_

 _"_ _Emma I promise I'll explain it all later when all this has blown over. I know it seems...odd, but I'll make sense of it for you."_

 _Emma trusted her. She could see that the stress of this whole situation was taking its toll on her so she made her way to Snow and Charming to try and end it._

 _She found Snow and Charming stood by the living room window, arms around each other,_

 _"_ _We found each other."_

 _"_ _We always do."_

 _Gross, Emma thought, but sweet nonetheless._

 _"_ _He...hey."_

 _They both spun around,_

 _"_ _Emma!" Snow had to restrain herself from hugging her again._

 _Emma felt kind of weird knowing that they thought she was their daughter, but she pushed through it for Regina._

 _"_ _Look, can I ask a favour?"_

 _"_ _Of course, anything."_

 _"_ _I know you think Regina is some kind of...evil monster...queen...whatever, but she's not. You seem like nice people, you must know that people chanting that they want to kill her outside her window isn't the right way to go about anything. I think they'll listen to you...could you maybe talk to them? Ask them to leave her alone."_

 _Snow and Charming seemed uncomfortable._

 _"_ _I don't know Emma," Snow looked back out of the window, "they do have good reason to be out there and maybe...maybe you're right maybe it's not the best way to go about it but what Regina did to them, to us, it was inexcusable. She can't go unpunished."_

 _"_ _Jesus you guys have a real medieval way of doing things here. If what Regina did was so bad then why hasn't she been arrested?"_

 _"_ _You think anyone would want to arrest the mayor?"_

 _"_ _Okay...well maybe we can find an alternative way to go about this. What if she held I don't know...a town meeting? So people can express their...feelings...to her in a non-violent fashion."_

 _"_ _I guess that could work." Charming seemed impressed with Emma's reasoning and good heart._

 _"_ _What's made you put so much of your trust in her Emma?" Snow was well and truly baffled by the situation at hand. Emma couldn't help but smile,_

 _"_ _She saved me."_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _When I was giving birth to Henry...her...our...son, I almost died. She drove me all the way here from New York and she saved me. I don't know how but, she stopped_ _me from dying."_

 _Every emotion seemed to move through Snow and Charming's bodies,_

 _"_ _You have a son? Together?"_

 _"_ _Well...originally she was gonna adopt him because I couldn't take care of him but now I don't know, so much has happened."_

 _"_ _Where is he? Is he okay?"_

 _"_ _He's fine he was just a little premature so they're keeping him at the hospital for a while."_

 _"_ _And you said...you said she saved you?"_

 _Emma smiled,_

 _"_ _She did."_

 _"_ _And you trust her?"_

 _"_ _I do."_

 _"_ _Are you sure?"_

 _"_ _More sure than I've ever been in my life."_

 _"_ _We have to talk to them Charming."_

 _"_ _Snow I-"_

 _"_ _She saved her."_

 _Charming nodded his head,_

 _"_ _Let's go."_

 _"_ _Thank you."_

 _Emma followed them out into the foyer,_

 _"_ _Emma stay out of sight, you might throw them off."_

 _Emma nodded and hid behind the door way. Snow opened the doors and the sound of rage filled the house. Upstairs Regina's chest tightened._

 _"_ _Snow? Charming? What are you doing in there?"_

 _"_ _You all need to go home."_

 _The crowd objected, shouting and slurring._

 _"_ _No way!"_

 _"_ _That witch needs to pay!"_

 _Emma's stomach lurched, she wanted to scream at them – how could they talk about her like that?_

 _"_ _Listen, we will handle her. You will all get your chance to speak with her but this is not the way to do it. This is not the way that good people handle things, and you are all good people."_

 _"_ _We_ _were_ _good people Charming! Before she messed up our lives!"_

 _"_ _And we understand that, but violence won't solve anything. Regina is about to bring her son home, it would be wrong to take her away from him."_

 _"_ _We'd be doing him a favour!"_

 _"_ _Please...please let us handle this. In our land we were your rulers...and as your rulers, we are demanding that you leave her be! Go back to your homes, go back to your families and take the time to appreciate each other. We have found each other again, enjoy that. What good will bitterness do right now?"_

 _Reluctantly, the crowd began to submit – they turned away from the house and walked back towards the town centre. Hidden amongst the crowd was Gold, Charming caught his eye as he gave a quick, satisfied nod before turning and walking away. Charming closed the doors behind him, trying not to allow the concern he felt due to what he just saw take over him._

 _Emma looked up as she heard Regina's bedroom door creak open,_

 _"_ Are the imbeciles gone?" Regina feigned confidence, only Emma saw through her act though.

 _"_ _You're welcome." Snow folded her arms, tightening her fingers around her bow._

 _Regina gave a stubborn nod and stood next to Emma,_

 _"_ _So what now? How do I know one of them isn't going to come and try to kill me in my sleep tonight?"_

 _"_ _You don't."_

 _"_ _Well...no you don't," Emma interrupted what she felt was the beginning of another bicker, "but, what I suggested was that you hold a town meeting, talk it out with them."_

 _The only thing that stopped Regina from rolling her eyes and groaning with disgust at the idea was the pride on Emma's face after she explained her idea._

 _"_ _I don't know if that's such a good idea..."_

 _"_ _Hear her out Regina...do you have a better plan?" Regina snarled at Snow,_

 _"_ _Are you still here."_

 _"_ _Hey...okay you two clearly have unresolved issues so maybe for now,_ _don't_ _talk to each other?"_

 _"_ _Fine by me."_

 _"_ _And me."_

 _Emma and Charming exchanged a nervous look._

 _"_ _Okay...so what do you say Regina? Town meeting?_

 _Regina breathed deeply, all she wanted to do was magic herself out of this room and into the hospital where Henry was staying. The thought of holding a town meeting whilst he was in there seemed absurd to her. But, what other choice did she have?_

 _"_ _Fine..."_

 _"_ Cool." Emma gleamed with pride, she felt like she'd really helped.

 _"_ _Okay so we'll leave you two to plan that then." Charming wrapped his arm around Snow and began guiding her towards the door. Snow didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay with Emma – she looked up at Charming, she knew he was right...they had no valid reason to stay yet._

 _"_ _Regina could I talk to you? Just for a second before I go?"_

 _"_ _Erm..." Emma looked worried,_

 _"_ _It's okay Emma." Regina followed Snow into the kitchen._

 _"_ _Thank you."_

 _Regina was startled,_

 _"_ _For what?"_

 _"_ _Saving her."_

 _Regina smiled, the distaste she had for Snow was, in that moment, put to one side when she saw the love and relief in her eyes. She knew how she felt, she couldn't count the number of times she'd thanked Emma both verbally and in her mind for bringing Henry into this world._

 _"_ _You're welcome but...I didn't do it for you."_

 _"_ _So I've heard..."_

 _Regina searched Snow's face for disapproval, but she didn't find it._

 _"_ _You don't mind."_

 _"_ _If it's true love then who am I to argue with it? And if that love saved my daughter from death then I'm more thankful for it than you could know. Just...don't hurt her, please."_

 _"_ _I won't. I couldn't."_

 _Their conversation had little emotion on the surface, but this was the longest talk they'd had without threatening to kill each other for a long time._

 _"_ _She's the saviour you know. Rumplestiltskin told me before the curse hit."_

 _"_ _I think that's been made fairly clear don't you?"_

 _A hint of a smile was exchanged between the two women before they remembered their history bitterness overcame them once more._

 _"_ _I'll see you at your town meeting then."_

 _Snow made her way towards the kitchen door,_

 _"_ _Snow?" Snow turned, "do you want me to tell her?"_

 _Snow looked to the floor,_

 _"_ _Be gentle."_

 _"_ _I will."_

 _XXX_

 _After Snow and Charming left, Regina and Emma sat around and drank whisky whilst they sent word out about the details of the town meeting which was to be held the next day at 1pm._

 _"_ _Are you nervous?"_

 _"_ _What could the evil queen possibly have to be nervous about?"_

 _Emma laughed but became serious after a few seconds,_

 _"_ _Look, I know he's yours but...I'd really like to meet Henry, would that be okay?"_

 _Regina turned her body towards Emma,_

 _"_ _He doesn't have to be just mine."_

 _"_ _You mean?"_

 _"_ _You have a home here now...if you want it?"_

 _"_ _My job..."_

 _"_ _I could very easily get you a job in town, well paid of course...I have some influence in that department."_

 _"_ _I'm sure you do..." Emma lay back on the sofa, "first you need to tell me what before was about: what did you do to those people, why do Snow and Charming think I'm their daughter...why are they called Snow and Charming?"_

 _Regina was dreading this - even though she knew it was inevitable, she knew she was about to open an emotional, life changing can of worms for Emma and she was scared for how she would react. She couldn't bear the thought of her running away. She got up and poured them another glass of whiskey,_

 _"_ _How do you feel about fairytales?"_

 _ **Next time in 10 Years:**_

 _"_ _So when I felt like I'd been electrocuted?"_

 _"_ _That was what that was...yes."_


	10. Chapter 10 - The Morning After Magic

_Guys! I feel truly awful for leaving you hanging for this long! I have no excuses except for the fact that OUAT hiatuses are hard because I don't have SQ feels constantly hitting me so I don't have as much inspiration to write! But I'm trying I promise._

 _Anyway, hope you enjoy! Let me know what you thing below_

 _Phoebe xxx_

"So when I felt like I'd been electrocuted?"

"That was what that was...yes."

"So...wait a second...you're telling me that somehow...all of this was supposed to happen? You were always supposed to become the evil queen, make Snow White, actual _real life_ Snow White, my _birth_ mother, your enemy - leading you to place a curse on the enchanted forest that would transcend the whole kingdom through realms into this world? This gross, magicless world? Just so you could meet me? Your _true_ love"

"Fate has a funny way of playing out sometimes."

Emma stood up and walked towards the window, Regina restrained herself from following her. She understood that she probably needed space right now. She imagined it wasn't all that common to hear that fairytales were real for people in this land.

"I don't know about all of this Regina. It's a good story but...do you realise how crazy it sounds? I watched Snow White as a kid – I was terrified of the Evil Queen...and here you are telling me that you're her? And as if that wasn't enough, you're saying that Snow White and Prince Charming are the parents I've been searching so desperately for, for my entire life?"

"I know. I've never had to do this before, I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you want to leave."

Emma turned round, her eyes sympathetic and sad for Regina – she really believed that she was just going to leave her after all that had happened? Her heart ached for her – Emma new abandonment and she knew what it was like to fear it.

She walked towards Regina and knelt down in front of her, she placed a hand on her knee.

"I'm not leaving."

Regina moved her eyes up to lock with Emma's and gave a solemn smile.

"You were terrified of the cartoon Evil Queen?"

"Terrified!"

Regina beamed when Emma giggled. They sat in silence for a moment as they were taken out of their difficult reality with laughter; Regina drifted back to reality first.

"Do you believe me?"

Emma's face went serious as she figured out how to answer Regina's question. On one hand, the idea that fairytales and magic were real seemed absurd to her – she hadn't even believed in that stuff when she was a kid let alone when she was an adult. On the other hand though, she had a talent for knowing when people were lying and she could tell Regina wasn't lying. So that either meant that Regina, and apparently this whole town, were delusional enough to truly believe all this stuff _or_ it meant that it was true. Emma had tried to make herself believe that it couldn't be true but no matter how hard she tried too much had happened. The shots of electricity every time Regina touched her, Regina saving her life without any medical assistance...this was the kind of thing you heard in fairytales; she couldn't ignore that despite all of her instincts telling her that it was all one huge coincidence.

Regina could see the uncertainty on Emma's face. What could she do to help her see that this was real – then it clicked.

"Hey." A level of cockiness rose in Regina's voice, evoking curiosity from Emma. "You want another drink?"

"Um...sure I guess." Emma stood up and got herself together.

"Well then, I'll go grab you one."

Regina hit Emma with a cheeky sideways smile before flicking her wrist. A cloud of purple smoke surrounded Regina and she was gone. Emma stopped dead, it was as though she had forgotten how to breathe.

"What the hell..." She whispered.

"Emma!" Regina's voice appeared suddenly from behind Emma, making her jump to her feet. She whirled around to see Regina, with that same cheeky grin, stood by the drinks cabinet.

"Whisky or apple cider?"

"How...how did...?"

Regina chuckled as she poured the drinks.

"Do you believe me now?"

Emma stood in shock, uncertain of what to do with herself.

Regina took the drinks and walked towards Emma, amused by her wide green eyes and open mouth. Emma didn't even flinch when Regina was but an inch away from her, she just stared at her. Regina twisted her body to the side slightly so she could set the drinks down on the table then stood up straight again, placing her arms around Emma's shoulders. Emma's body relaxed slightly upon Regina's touch.

"You don't have to understand it all right away Emma, give it time. I won't rush you."

Emma relaxed herself into Regina, sliding her hands around her waist.

"Okay."

Regina leaned into Emma's lips, tightening her arms around Emma's neck. Emma slid her hands a little further down and began to guide Regina's body towards the sofa behind them. They allowed themselves to fall onto it, breathing heavier now. Just as they were about to lose themselves in one and other, Emma stopped and sat up.

"Emma?"

"You're not gonna use magic are you?"

Regina laughed before pulling Emma back down by the belt of her jeans,

"No promises."

Emma was woken by the sound of stiletto heels pacing the floorboards – as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she spotted Regina frantically moving around the room collecting her things. She saw that Emma was awake through the mirror as she fixed her hair.

"I'm going to be late."

"For?"

"The town meeting!"

"Oh shoot! I forgot about that!"

Emma attempted to pull herself up off the sofa but failed miserably, falling back into a messy heap of clothes and cushions. Regina couldn't help but smile,

"You don't have to be there don't worry about it."

"Yes, yes I do...I'm the one who suggested you do it I can't just let you go in there alone. Plus, I feel like you might need someone who doesn't want to see you burned at the stake there with you?"

"That's a good point...well hurry then! I'm supposed to be there in 10 minutes!"

"Sorry! You really wiped me out last night lady...you said no magic." Emma's eyebrows creased into a childlike frown.

" _What I said_ was no promises, if you recall." A sarcastic smirk covered Regina's face as she moved towards Emma – she gave her a quick peck on the cheek before moving on to the kitchen to get breakfast. Emma sat still for a moment, left dizzy by Regina's charm.

"I can't hear you getting changed in there!"

Emma bolted up and began getting dressed,

"What do you have eyes in the back of your head now?" Emma muttered mockingly, rolling her eyes as she pulled on her jeans.

"I heard that!"

Emma laughed, _what the hell have I gotten myself into,_ she thought to herself.

Regina dragged a reluctant Emma by the hand towards the town hall,

"They're all gonna hate me too."

"Their hate for me will balance it out dear, don't worry." Regina stopped before the entrance to the hall, "as soon as we're finished here, we're going to see Henry okay?"

"I'd love that." A tender smile illuminated both of their faces as they looked at each other. Their moment was interrupted by Snow White,

"Come on they're all waiting!" Regina rolled her eyes and pushed past Snow, who was too busy looking at Emma. "Hi again." Tears filled Snow's eyes; Emma new then, this was real. This was her mother – the one she'd been waiting for. She snapped back to reality when she felt the tug of Regina's hand,

"I have to go...can I...can I speak to you...you and...Charming...later? Is that okay?"

"O..of course you can yes!"

Regina used all of her strength not to let any of the hundreds of sarcastic remarks she had lined up for this exact moment, for Emma's sake. She simply tugged her hand gently again and allowed her to enter the hall in front of her. Before she entered, Regina looked back at Snow,

"Do not overwhelm her, she's been through enough."

Rage coursed through Snow's veins at Regina's words, was she really telling her what not to do in front of her own daughter now? But after a second of suppressing her rage and taking deep breathes, she realised that she was right. She actually usually was right in these situations, she just had an irritatingly arrogant way of delivering her advice, that's all. Snow couldn't bring herself to tell her this though, so she just nodded her head and moved forward, avoiding eye contact with Regina as she went.

Regina's heart sank when she entered the town hall; boos, heckles and petty insults were thrown at her from all angles. Usually she would be able to handle this...with violence and jail cells – but she wanted to be a better person for Henry...for Emma. This was going to be difficult.

She met with Emma's nervous eyes; she was stood at the side of the stage, emotions coursing through her. Regina wished with all of her heart that she didn't have to see this. She persevered and marched to centre stage, gazing at her subjects with a healthy mix of threat and authority.

"If everyone could please be quiet so we can get this meeting over with?"

The townspeople's insults failed to cease.

Regina waited a couple of minutes but lost her patience, a fireball emerged from the palm of her left hand within seconds. Somewhere in the crowd, Mr. Gold smirked to himself.

The whole room gasped, including Emma.

"Oh great, you have magic again?!" The man known as Grumpy back in the Enchanted Forest grimaced.

"I would have thought it obvious to you people, of course I have magic. The curse has been lifted."

In the middle of the room, Gold stood up from his chair, smiled at Regina and then at Emma and proceeded to leave the room.

People weren't unfamiliar with Gold's suspicious behaviour so they mostly shrugged it off and returned to their Evil Queen.

"You should be in jail for what you did, what you've done to us Regina!"

"Yeah!"

The room erupted once again.

"Quiet! Do you all desire to have fireballs knock you off your chairs?"

The room quietened slightly.

"Thank you. Okay..." Regina's throat clenched up – what was she supposed to say, she didn't really have any excuses these people would deem valid. So she turned to the people she knew would give her guidance, the Charming's. Charming sensed her struggle and stepped forward,

"I think, what Regina brought you all here to tell you is that she's sorry..."

Regina side-eyed Charming, it had been a long time since apologising was even something that crossed her mind in regards to these people. She knew though, that it would be necessary if she was ever going to give Emma and Henry the lives they deserved here – so she nodded and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"We all know the awful things Regina did back in the Enchanted Forest, most of us experienced them first-hand – but what did Snow and I always say? Have hope. Hope for change. Regina, as far as I can tell, has changed; and however little that change might be – it's there. We need to acknowledge that, rather than fight it. It's understandable that you might all need time but all we ask is that you don't act upon your frustrations. Like we said, Regina has a son now...she is a mother...and it should be our priority to honour that. Especially considering the origins of the child. Emma?"

Charming grinned as he stretched his arm out towards Emma, beckoning her over. She resisted for a moment, embarrassed that the spotlight was now on her, but eventually made her way over.

"Everybody, this is Emma...our daughter, and the birth mother of Regina's son, our grandson, Henry." Charming looked at Snow tenderly as he said the words, as did she.

Silence and confused expressions filled the room.

"Right before the Ev...Regina, cast the curse, we sent Emma through a vessel into this world."

"Why?" One of the townspeople asked,

"To give her her best chance." Emma and Charming shared a moment as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

"How old are you kid?" Granny asked from across the room,

"Uh..I'm 18, almost 19."

Regina grimaced slightly at the age gap between them, evoking a small chuckle from Emma who had noticed her.

"So that's how long you've kept us hostage here, unaware of time or anything from our past Regina?"

Regina hung her head once more,

"I am sorry, and you all know how hard it is for me to admit that. It's still hard for me to stand here without insulting or hurting any of you...the darkness is in my heart, I fear it always will be. Evil runs in my blood; my mother and the circumstances she threw me into made sure of that. But I will say this, having Henry, meeting Emma...being with her -"

The townspeople exchanged awkward and mocking glances, some thought it was sweet.

"They've shown me that good still exists in the world, the good I thought had left my life forever – and I will do everything it takes to keep them safe and happy. Which, I guess, means I need to keep you people safe and happy too. So, as you can see, it's in my best interest to never hurt any of you again – I just want to be with my family...without violence, without magic, without revenge. I hope you can believe me when I say that."

The townspeople were quiet, it was a good sign. Regina surveyed the room and nodded at Emma.

"Now excuse us, we have to go and see our son."

Regina reached her hand out to Emma, who took it and gripped it tightly.

 **Next time in 10 Years:**

" _Sorry about the fireballs."_

" _It's okay...I thought it was hot."_

" _That was an awful joke Ms. Swan."_


End file.
